''Mark Trail'' is the title of two different American radio series based on the popularity of the comic strip ''

Mark Trail ''Mark Trail'' is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on Environmentalism, environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "near ...

'' by

Ed Dodd Edward Benton Dodd (November 7, 1902 – May 27, 1991) was a 20th-century American cartoonist known for his ''Mark Trail'' comic strip. Early years Born in Lafayette, Georgia to Reverend Jesse Mercer Dodd and Effie Cook Dodd (the artist Lamar ...

and airing around the same time period between 1950 and 1952. Just like the comic strip they were adventure stories aimed at a young audience about forester and environmentalist Mark Trail.

1950–1951 series

The first

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

series about Mark Trail aired on January 30, 1950 and lasted until June 8, 1951. It was broadcast on

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

. Each episode was 30 minutes long and aired three times a week, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The series was sponsored by

Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...

Pep cereal. A review of the first episode in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the show's hero "combines the character of J. Edgar Hoover and Robin Hood." It commended Matt Crowley's performance in the title role.

1951–1952 series

On September 10, 1951, only three months after the first version, a second audio play series aired, this time on ABC Radio. Each episode was also a half-hour in length and ran thrice a week until January 1952. After this date it switched to a 15-minute format airing weekdays through June 27, 1952, namely Monday, Wednesday and Friday on 5:15 p.m. Only a handful of the 15-minute episodes are known to have survived.

Cast

The series were directed by Drex Hines and

Frank Maxwell Charles Francis Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American actor who served as president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from 1984 to 1989. Life and career A native of The Bronx borough of New Yor ...

. Scripts were written by

Albert Aley Albert Aley (April 25, 1919 – January 1, 1986) was an American producer, screenwriter, script doctor and story editor. Career Aley began his career, as an actor on the radio series ''Let's Pretend''. Later in his career, Aley worked on radio a ...

, Gilbert Braun, Max Ehrlich, Elwood Hoffman, Donald Hughes and Palmer Thompson. The music was composed by John Gart, while the sound effects were provided by Bill Hoffman and Jack Keane. Announcements were provided by

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts. Early years Beck was born on July 23, ...

and

Glenn Riggs Glenn Everett Riggs (July 24, 1907 – September 12, 1975) was an American radio announcer. Early years Riggs was the youngest of two children born to parents Edwin E. (April 15, 1874–August 1, 1968) and Pearl Riggs on July 24, 1907 in E ...

. * Mark Trail: Matt Crowley,

Staats Cotsworth Staats Cotsworth (February 17, 1908 – April 9, 1979) was an American actor in old-time radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

, John Larkin * Scotty:

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American film and television actor who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in Westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life with Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...

, Ronald Liss * Cherry:

Joyce Gordon Joyce Gordon (March 25, 1929–February 28, 2020) was an American actress. Early life Joyce Gordon was born on March 25, 1929, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Jule and Diana (Cohn) Gordon. Her father was the founder of the National Barber and Beauty Man ...

, Amy Sidell

Announcement

Each episode would be announced with the following lines : ''Battling the raging elements!'' ''Fighting the savage wilderness!'' ''Striking at the enemies of man and nature!'' ''One man's name resounds from the snowcapped mountains down across the sun-baked plains: MAAAAARRRRRKKKKK TRAIL!''

Other radio adaptations of ''Mark Trail''

From 1991 through September 2002 the Minneapolis-St. Paul,

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station

KFAI KFAI (90.3 FM) is a noncommercial community radio station located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The station broadcasts programming for many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region, inc ...

aired the series ''Mark Trail Radio Theatre''. Each Friday evening a new weekly episode was aired. In total 228 weekly installments and 17 adventures in total were made.

Sources

{{Reflist American radio dramas American children's radio programs 1950 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings Mutual Broadcasting System programs 1952 radio programme endings ABC radio programs Radio programs based on comic strips Radio programs about animals